Abandoned
by Donatello8696
Summary: Abuse and abandonment was all he really knew throughtout most of his life. His worthless life. He figured he couldn't be worthless in death, so that was what he really wanted. Or can he seek refuge with a certain violet-eyed tennis player? Slash.
1. Becoming Nothing

The young boy trembled fiercely as the harsh evening winter winds sent uncontrollable chills throughout his body, literally slapping any exposed bare skin. And with the thin piece of fabric he was using in vain to cover his body, which was only clad in a shirt and rags for pants, there was a lot of exposed skin to the furious winds.

The boy shuddered and only wrapped the fabric tighter around him.

Perhaps he would die here, sitting in this abandoned alleyway. He almost welcomed the idea of death, of fading into a world of nothing. That's what he was, right? Nothing.

'_A worthless brat. Ungrateful. You're nothing. Do you hear me? _Nothing_…'_

The boy felt a small shred of temporary warmth on his face that the falling tears provided before they froze, still on his cheeks. He wanted more of that warmth so badly, and he also wanted to get rid of the aching pain in his chest. He wanted relief.

So he cried harder, his sobs lost in the howling wind. Or maybe that was him howling. He couldn't tell. All he knew was that he was stuck here, without a home and without a chance of survival.

'_Kami-sama, please just kill me now. I don't want to be here any longer. I want to die. Please just let me die,' _he thought as his misery took complete control over him.

Finally, after his tears ran out and were all frozen on his cheeks, Ryoma felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. The coldness left his body and left him numb. He couldn't feel, and he couldn't hear the howling winds anymore.

_Is this death?_ he thought as he slumped forward, crumbling onto the snowy, frozen ground. He blinked slowly, seeing the swirls and patterns the snow was making as it was blown around by the wind. It was beautiful, but one glimpse was all he saw before his eyes finally closed for good.

_Finally._


	2. Race Against Time

_Light up, light up / As if you have a choice_

* * *

Momoshiro sighed as he strolled down the sidewalk, holding a brown paper bag full of groceries. A small misty cloud appeared in front of his mouth before it evaporated with the rest of the flying snow.

The week of Christmas was always a hassle; crowds of people trying to get the last supplies in stock for dinner, presents for children or for loved ones, everyone was always trying to buy something. Momo was lucky he was able to get all the groceries his mother had requested for him to get.

Momo shivered at the cold wind and pulled up his scarf over his mouth and zipped his jacket up.

Just a couple of blocks now.

The wind was persistent, blowing in his face fiercely, determined to overcome to obstacles known as clothes and fulfill its purpose to cause this person to become cold. Again and again, Momo felt the freezing air biting at his face, then nothing at all as the unfortunate bits of exposed skin become numb. The wind seemed to howl with triumph.

With a defeated sigh, Momo veered off to the right into a deserted alley. A shortcut home was probably the best option, and the thick brick walls on either side of him would surely prevent him from getting attacked from the snow. Tucking the grocery bag closer to his chest, Momo walked into the thin alley.

Well, all hopes of the wind leaving him alone were quickly gone when Momo realized that there was even snow blowing in this particular alleyway. He cursed under his breath and hurried on, wanting to get home quickly.

The wind howled loudly, furiously against his ears. The snow in front of him flew toward his face, temporary blinding him –

"What the –! " Momo exclaimed as his foot suddenly caught onto something solid and he fell forward, sending the bag of groceries flying. Momo caught himself with his hands, then quickly recovered, diving toward the bag before it hit the ground. He landed on his stomach with an "oomph!"

Lucky all this snow was here.

Groaning with the pain in his stomach, Momo stood up slowly, holding the bag in one hand while the other concentrated on brushing off the snow on his coat and pants.

_What was that?_ he thought as he finished patting off the last of the loose snow on his coat. He turned around, saying, "I could've sworn that –"

Momo's violet eyes widened.

"Oh no," he whispered, dropping the bag of groceries. It landed with a soft thump on the snow covered ground as Momo ran forward.

"Echizen!" Momo exclaimed, dropping down next to the boy.

Ryoma was laying there, barely any clothes on and a thin rag lying some feet away from him. Momo guessed it was to keep him warm. Fat chance of that, Momo thought as he observed Ryoma's face. He was ghostly white (Momo had to fight the panic brewing inside him) and Momo gasped as he saw the nasty bruises that were on his face and arms, as they each stood out as a violent purple blotch on Ryoma's pale skin. Momo would have felt angry about this, but the fury was overtaken by the anxiety and panic welling inside him; Ryoma's eyes were closed and his lips were turning a faint but noticeable blue.

"Echizen!" Momo cried out, reaching out a laying a hand on Ryoma's still form, shaking slightly. The young boy would not open his eyes.

Momo's insides clenched with fear and he shook harder. "Come on, Echizen, don't do this! Wake up, wake up! You gotta wake up!" Momo screamed over the wind.

When Ryoma once again showed no signs of awakening, Momo backed away slightly, eyes huge. Something escaped from his throat that sounded like a yelp mixed in with a curse. He frantically looked around him, looking to each exit of the alley. He looked at where he had entered the alley and nodded to himself; the hospital was only a couple blocks away. If he ran, he could make it there in less than 10 minutes, but with Ryoma's weight it would probably slow Momo down.

_And_, he thought, turning toward Ryoma, _does he even have 10 minutes?_

He shut his eyes together tightly and shook his head furiously. No. No, Ryoma would make it.

_He has to_, Momo thought as he re-opened his eyes. The purple orbs were wet.

No more time should be wasted. Momo quickly yet carefully placed his arms around Ryoma and hauled him up bridal style, unconsciously taking notice of how much skinnier and lighter Ryoma was since he last saw him.

He had no time to dwell on that fact, however, as he began to run. He was mistaken; Ryoma didn't slow him down like he had first assumed, for, like he first noticed, the extreme loss of weight. Momo willed his legs to go faster, cradling Ryoma in his arms and pulling him deep into his chest, trying to pass off any warmth he had to the boy.

He looked down at Ryoma's still body and fought to keep his eyes dry.

_Just hang on._

**XXX**

Momo paced back and forth in the hallway. He had arrived bursting through the hospital doors, screaming for help. Almost immediately there was a team of doctors and nurses, two rolling a gurney. Momo placed Ryoma onto it and held on to the edge as the doctors began to roll him away. He had kept his eyes on Ryoma the entire time, his gaze never wavering. He only let go of the gurney when the doctors patiently ordered him to let go. Reluctantly, unwillingly, Momo allowed his hands to let go, and he stayed where he stopped, staring after Ryoma until they turned a corner. And then he was gone.

And now here he was, impatiently waiting for the Regulars to arrive. He had phoned Tezuka first, stumbling over his words as he explained the situation to his buchou. Tezuka was silent throughout Momo's frantic rant and when he spoke, his voice was strong and slightly reassuring.

"Don't worry, Momoshiro. I'll call Fuji and help spread the word. We'll be there."

Momo supposed he made the right choice calling Tezuka first, because his calmness had helped Momo's panic to ease slightly. And not to mention the fact that when he called Eiji next, he got the reaction he hadn't wanted to hear while still sick with worry.

Eiji listened to Momo, understood what was going on, but the redhead would constantly interrupt his junior with questions and exclamations, frustrating Momo. When they finally reached the end of the conversation, Eiji promised to call the other Regulars along with Tezuka so Momo wouldn't have to constantly repeat himself. Momo thanked his sempai and hung up.

He was grateful that Tezuka and Eiji had called the other Regulars for him; he didn't know how much more interrogation similar to Eiji's that he could stand. And he wasn't looking forward to meeting Oishi here. He would only add to Momo's frustrations and his visible way of showing fear and worry would not help Momo's queasy stomach in the slightest.

Sighing, Momo sank down into a chair, mentally and physically exhausted. This had been a long day.

Momo wanted so desperately to close his eyes and sleep for eternity, but he knew there was one more thing he needed to do. He pulled out his cell and dialed a number, holding it to his ear and listening to the ringing.

A click on the other end sounded almost immediately and his mother's panicked voice came from the other end. _"Takeshi! Takeshi, please tell me it's you!"_

"Kaa-san, calm down. Hai, it's me… I'm at the hospital… Iie! Iie, I'm alright! It's Echizen Ryoma… Hai, kaa-san, I found him… I was coming home from the store and took a shortcut through an alley and I sort of fell over him… I-I don't know that yet… Alright, kaa-san, but is it alright if I stay here? At least until they tell me something?... Arigatou, kaa-san. I'll call you as soon as I find out anything. Sayonara."

He snapped his phone shut and placed it in his pocket and felt his eyelids getting heavier. Now that that was done, he could finally get some sleep. But as his eyes drew to a close, he remembered something.

He had left the bag of groceries in the alley.

_Oh well_, Momo thought, his lids completely covering his eyes. Sleep came immediately.

* * *

_Even if you cannot hear my voice / I'll be right beside you, dear_


	3. Diagnoses

_And I can barely look at you / But every single time I do_

* * *

"MOMO!"

The Regulars hurried forward toward the sleeping boy. Momo was fast asleep, head resting on his hand, elbow propped on the arm of the chair. But the loud call of his name quickly snapped him out of it and he jerked back into reality, jumping slightly in his chair. He whipped his head around in the direction of the Regulars to see who had called him and immediately knew that was a bad idea; a wave of dizziness had hit him hard as soon as he made the fast movement. He clutched his forehead and groaned, leaned his head back onto the wall behind him, and closed his eyes, trying to calm the nausea behind his eyes.

"Momo!" he heard again, and this time he heard the loud approaching footsteps of more than one person. He didn't open his eyes to acknowledge the person, but was forced to when a familiar pair of arms encircled themselves around him. He grunted with the sudden weight of Eiji.

"Eiji - "

"What's going on? Where's Ochibi? Is he okay?" all these questions were hurled at him by the hyper-active redhead. Momo grunted again.

"Eiji - " he said, struggling to speak. "Can't talk when I can't breathe."

Immediately, Eiji let go of the spiky-haired boy, looking wide-eyed. "Gomen, gomen, gomen, Momo," Eiji said rapidly. Before he could get more words out, he was interrupted by the rest of the team stopping next to them.

"Kikumaru, try to restrain yourself. Momoshiro, do you know anything yet?" Tezuka's sharp voice rang out form the front. Momo shook his head.

"Iie. No one's told me anything yet."

And they spent the better part of the night in that hallway, waiting, waiting, then waiting some more. Momo proceeded in trying to get rid of excess energy by pacing back and forth in front of the sitting Regulars. After a while of this, Kaidoh, who had been watching the pacing boy the entire time with the familiar annoyance he held, spoke.

"Hey, you keep walking around like this and you're going to dig a trench in no time."

But Momo seemed too distracted to even offer back a retort, and he just continued to pace as if he hadn't heard anything Kaidoh said. Kaidoh, unsatisfied, gave a low hiss and sank back in his chair, now averting his eyes from his rival. But not before sending him a confused glance.

This type of behavior wasn't normal for Momo. And it seemed that Kaidoh wasn't the only one who noticed. Eiji and Oishi exchanged glances; Fuji's eyes narrowed slightly; Kawamura took over watching Momo pace with worried eyes. But still the second year tennis player continued to pace, oblivious to everything except his thoughts that were slowly consuming him.

It was only when the doctor finally arrived that Momo snapped out of his trance and walked straight toward him. "How is he?" he demanded.

The doctor sighed and tapped on his clipboard somewhat nervously. "Well, I must tell you that you were very lucky to find him when you did. If he had been in this kind of weather any longer, he would not have made it."

"So he's okay?"

"Yes. He's going to be just fine."

The Regulars let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding, some smiling in relief.

"However, the condition in which he was brought in - "

"Condition?" Tezuka spoke up, walking up beside Momo.

The doctor nodded. "There were countless bruises and cuts all over his body. Some seemed old and healing, but a large percentage of them seemed between a week and three days old."

"What?" The Regulars turned to the doctor, eyes wide, with the exception of Tezuka, whose eyes narrowed further. Momo was the only one who showed no reaction, though inside him anger was slowly brewing.

"I just wanted to know if any of you knew about this," the doctor finished, extending a hand toward the to halt any other questions until his point was clear. Oishi appeared on Momo's other side.

"Doctor, we haven't seen Echizen in weeks. Tonight when Momo found him was the only time we've seen him since he went missing," Oishi said.

The doctor smiled. "I understand. But before he went missing, has he been expressing any odd behavior? Jumpiness or changes in mood, maybe?"

The Regulars shook their heads. But Momo cleared his throat nervously. "I, uh, think I know something of this." He nearly cringed when he immediately felt eyes boring holes into him intensely. He cleared his throat again before continuing. " A few weeks before he went missing, I noticed that Echizen had been getting more and more distant from us. He had been getting colder, too. But he had always been like that, I just thought it was normal behavior for him."

The doctor nodded.

"I see. And," - he looked back at his clipboard - "There is also his illness - "

"Illness?" Tezuka cut him off again. The doctor looked up and nodded.

"Your friend Echizen has been showing severe symptoms of pneumonia."

* * *

_I know we'll make it anywhere / Away from here_

* * *

**Wow. First A/N in this story. I haven't really had anything to say for a while. But I just wanted to let readers know that now I have a little schedule I put up on my profile that shows when each story is going to get updated. I was on time on this one. Yay for me!**

**Hopefully I can get all my stories finished on time. Review please! For motivation? And more updates? Review! =D**


	4. Awakening

**I MADE THE TENNIS TEAM! I am so proud of myself at this moment. I never played tennis before, but the coaches were insisting that I was a natural. =D So practices are everyday after until six, so I might not have a lot of free time, seeing that school starts on Wednesday. ='( I miss eighth grade... But I'll try my best to update the stories, so bear with me, minna.**

**Well, hope you enjoy chapter four!**

**Disclaimer: Believe me, I wish I did.**

* * *

Ryoma groaned as he felt consciousness mentally tugging on him. Slowly, he tried to lift his tired eyelids open, closing them after seeing a bright blurriness through his lashes. Swallowing thickly, he grunted as he opened his eyes again, blinked and stared.

What was this?

Ryoma frowned in confusion as he gazed up at the pale white ceiling, then tilted his head to gaze toward his right, brows furrowing as he saw through the open door that revealed people unknown to him walking in the hallways. He was in a hospital, he determined as he also looked up to see an IV attached to his arm. Scowling, he moved to take it off. A hand shot out of nowhere, startling him, and stopped him from proceeding on this action.

"Oh no, you don't. Leave that there."

Ryoma gasped in surprise at the all-too familiar voice and his head jerked to his left, coming face-to-face with Momoshiro, who was smiling softly at him and removed his hand once he was sure Ryoma wouldn't fiddle with it. "How are you feeling?"

Ryoma didn't answer right away, trying to calm the overwhelming feeling inside of him. Why was he here? He should be dead right now, left to die in that alley. Why was he still alive? He didn't want to be alive. Ignoring the ache in his chest, he finally muttered, "Just peachy."

He thought absentmindly about he phrase and almost smirked as he recalled what Momo's name meant.

Momo chuckled. Ryoma groaned as a sudden wave of pain flashed through his head. Blinking hard, Ryoma looked at Momo and, while noticing for the first time how hoarse his voice sounded, whispered, "How did I get here?" But the question had barely left his lips before he went into a coughing fit, each throaty cough sounding more and more hoarse and painful. Momo's eyes widened and he helped Ryoma into a sitting position and rubbed comforting circles on his kouhai's back, waiting for it to stop.

After a while, Ryoma went silent and he turned to look at Momo. "You... You didn't answer my question."

Momo nearly rolled his eyes. But he answered gently, "You were in an alley. I found you there while on my way home from the store. You had only rags for clothes. Echizen... what happened? You were gone for so long... everyone was worried sick. Well, no one was as worried as Oishi."

Ryoma didn't smile nor laugh at Momo's lame attempt at a joke, and remained silent. Momo frowned in confusion and felt a flicker of worry inside him, and he leaned over, trying to see Ryoma's hung face. "Echizen?"

Ryoma ignored him. He instead went back into his original laying position, oblivious to his fierce trembling, but not to the sudden cold feeling he got. But Momo noticed.

"What's wrong, Echizen?" he asked.

Ryoma only shook his head as he settled underneath the covers again. "Nothing. I'm just really cold." He shivered as another cold chill spread throughout his body, tightening the sheets around himself.

Momo nodded, glancing down. "Yeah, the doctors said you might have these symptoms."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Symptoms? Of what?"

It was Momo's turn to be silent, but not nearly as long as Ryoma had been. He spoke after a moment. "Echizen, they said you have pneumonia."

**XXX**

About a half-hour later found Momo exiting the hospital after being kicked out of Ryoma's room by nurses insisting that visiting hours were over and that Ryoma needed to rest. Momo really wanted to stay, and only ended up agreeing when Ryoma said that it was alright, and that he could leave.

_"It's fine, Momo-sempai. You can leave, I'll be alright without you for _one _day."_

Momo sighed. He had been slightly hurt by that comment, but he knew that Ryoma was right; he would be okay without Momo. And since when did Momo start coddling an individual like this? So he left after promising to be back tomorrow. Ryoma had only acknowledged this with a slight nod.

And now Momo was desperately confused, not to mention incredibly bewilered. He knew Ryoma was a quiet, cold boy, but he was known to speak more than he had today. He had been unusually silent, and when he did speak, he answered only questions directed right at him and in short responses. Another thing Momo didn't fail to notice was the lack of life in Ryoma voice and golden eyes. He seemed dull, dead. Momo shuddered at that thought as he remembered the past night's events and how close Ryoma had been to death.

Indifference was something Ryoma did, something Momo was used to. But his usual indifference held some sort of emotion, most likely cockiness or annoyance. Today, it was different. Ryoma's face lacked of emotion, no sign of arrogance in his features. But what really scared Momo was that despite the stoic expression that was usually reserved on Tezuka's face, Momo could see a small flicker of something in Ryoma.

Defeat.

That was what scared Momo the most. Ryoma finally showed some form of defeat.

But for what?

He sighed, pushing open the exit doors and walking once again in the cold winter air. He would have to wait until tomorrow to ask Ryoma everything. For right now, he had to rest.

And Momo had to get more groceries, he remembered with a groan.

* * *

**Uhh, my brain kinda went dead from sleep in the middle of writing this and I turned it off until the next morning, and when I began typing again, my mind was still foggy from waking up so I don't really knw how it turned out. Please review and tell me if you like it and what you would like to see in this story or something to help out!**

**Keep the feedback coming! =)**


End file.
